We leverage exogenous shocks to the price of oil (rents) and cabinet appointments (concessions) to assess the efficacy of these strategies. Because the Council of Ministers (cabinet) votes on each law, we have unusually precise insight into the regime's preferences. 4/

And we find evidence of both mechanisms at work. A standard deviation increase in oil revenues is associated with a 2 percentage point increase in voting with the regime. Ministerial appointments have a similarly strong effect. 5/